Last week CQC announced their new 2013-16 strategy and business plan which outlines radical changes they will be making to the way they inspect and regulate services.
We summarise below a sample of some of the more important changes that will be taking place over the next 3 years:
- Developing new fundamental standards of care. These will be based around asking – are they safe, effective, caring, well led and responsive to people’s needs?
- Appointing Chief Inspectors for hospitals and social care and support and considering appointing the same for primary and integrated care.
- Introducing national teams in NHS hospitals to use their specialist expertise to carry out in-depth reviews of hospitals.
- Introducing a clear programme for failing NHS trusts to ensure people are protected.
- Ratings of services will be reintroduced in an attempt to provide better information for the public.
- Ensuring inspectors specialise in particular areas of care.
- Introducing a more thorough test for organisations that are applying to provide care.
- Strengthening the protection of people who fall under the Mental Capacity Act.
These changes are intended to be applied to NHS hospitals and mental health trusts first as a priority due to the recognised urgency for more effective inspection and regulation of these services. It will then be extended to other sectors from 2014 to 2016.
Ridouts can advise providers on how CQC ‘s strategy may affect their business.
The new strategy and business plan can be found at the following link: http://www.cqc.org.uk/public/about-us/our-performance-and-plans/our-strategy-and-business-plan
